Where were the protectors of Indian Constitution when the windbag fanatics of majority community - Praveen Togadia, Mohan Bhagwat, Subramaniam Swamy and Thackerays - were trampling the laws of land under their foot? The arrest of Akbaruddin Owaisi has shown that police will act against hate speech makers only when they hail from the minority community.

IT IS not a cliché but a fact that Hindu-Muslim unity is the need of the hour. We can’t do without it if we want to survive as true Indians. More than 20 crore Muslims are not going to disappear in thin air if anyone wishes, and without the goodwill, understanding and love of Hindus Indian Muslims can’t expect to live an honorable and peaceful life. We need each other and we depend upon each other.

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It is true that this delicate fabric has often been torn apart as the fanatics from both the sides had challenged it. They have taxed to the hilt the common sense and patience of ordinary Indians. But it is also true that there had always been daring intellectuals and leaders who took up the cudgels for the innocents and defied the might of fanaticism.

Akbaruddin Owaisi’s speech is nothing new and would not be the last. It would eventually prove just a storm in the tea-cup. Muslims no longer buy extremism and they are wise enough to pick up what they want. They know how to protect their future. Steadily and silently they are turning towards knowledge and hard work. They know that in this tough world only the fittest would survive. They are ready to face the competition of the real world. Save a few so-called leaders they are not looking for favors and learning to trust themselves.

I fully endorse the act of state to book Akbaruddin for the speeches he had delivered. To me these speeches are self-destructive, out-of-place and meaningless. His views reflect a warped mindset, an affront to Indian dream of secularism. Let the law of the land take its own course and guilty (if proved) must be punished.

Having said that I must ask all those who are the proud bearers of a heart in its right place, who claim that they want to hold the scale even why this excellent alacrity of action that is shown in case of Owasi was missing when perpetrators of similar crimes were spreading the venom freely in past. Let me recall few incidents:

Can we forget what Subramanium Swamy had written in his article published by DNA? “If any Muslim acknowledges his or her Hindu legacy, then we Hindus can accept him or her as a part of Birhal Hindu Samaj which is Hindustan. India that is Bharat that is Hindustan is a nation of Hindus and others whose ancestors were Hindus. Others who refuse to acknowledge this, or those foreigners who became Indian citizens by registration, can remain in India but should not have voting rights,” Swamy had written.

Ram Vilas Vedanti said in Hyderabad that he would not allow a Masjid to be built in any place of India in the name of Babar………..”

And here is the mercurial Praveen Togadia’s famous challenge he made in December 2012 in Hyderabad in his press conference on the issue of controversial Bhagya Lakshmi Mandir adjacent to Charminar – “VHP will convert Hyderabad into Ayodhya if Hindus were not allowed to perform puja. (It is important to note that Hindus were never stopped from doing so). He also threatened that VHP will teach Hyderabadi Muslims a lesson that they will never forget.

It is unfortunate that no palpable action was taken against these leaders from the majority community. They are roaming scot-free. Being in majority, Hindu community is expected to show a tolerant attitude towards minorities and not to be paranoid of concocted propaganda and false fears. It worries Muslims when their genuine grievances are simply ignored by those who are supposed to protect their rights. They should not be given a feeling that in our secular country they are helpless – at the mercy of anarchists.

And people here need to understand what gives birth to politicians like Owaisi. Of course, he banks on the discriminatory policies adopted by the state – especially by policemen – while dealing with people from both the communities. Every time a protest takes place in any part of the country, it is the people from minority community who become targets of police bullets. Police forces need to be sensitized to understand that Muslims like Hindus are their fellow countrymen.

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